Acupuncture for Persistent Asthma: Protocol for a Randomized, Sham-Controlled Trial with Neuroimaging

Area of Science:

• Integrative medicine
• Neuroscience
• Respiratory medicine

Background:

• Acupuncture shows promise for asthma management.
• Clinical evidence and understanding of neurophysiological mechanisms are limited.
• Persistent asthma requires effective therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for persistent asthma.
• Investigate the central neurophysiological mechanisms of acupuncture's effects.
• Provide evidence for optimizing acupuncture in asthma care.

Main Methods:

• Randomized, sham-controlled neuroimaging trial with 72 mild-to-moderate persistent asthma patients.
• 12 acupuncture sessions over 4 weeks; primary outcome: Asthma Control Test score.
• Secondary outcomes include quality of life, psychological status, lung function, and neuroimaging (MRI).

Main Results:

• Analysis of covariance and linear mixed-effects models will be used.
• Correlation and mediation analyses will explore links between clinical and neuroimaging data.
• Intention-to-treat principle will guide statistical analysis.

Conclusions:

• Findings are expected to support acupuncture's therapeutic role in asthma.
• Elucidating neuroregulatory mechanisms will inform optimized acupuncture application.
• This research contributes to a mechanism-informed approach to asthma management.